Press coverage of the arms fair

Campaigners have condemned plans by BAE Systems to showcase a new “autonomous” unmanned drone at this week’s London arms fair, citing evidence that the existing Reaper models have killed civilians in Afghanistan and Pakistan. [Link]

A host of authoritarian regimes will be entertained in London today at one of the world’s largest arms fairs, despite concerns over how readily unpopular dictatorships turned to live ammunition to suppress popular revolutions during this year’s Arab Spring. [Link]

Peace activists hung a 12 metre ‘Destroy DSEI’ banner close to the ExCeL Centre at dawn this morning just hours before it opened its doors to the controversial Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) arms fair. [Link]

The London arms fair has opened to a storm of controversy, with protests outside Parliament, the offices of arms companies and at the gates to the event itself. The National Gallery also faced protests after it hosted an evening reception for visitors to the arms fair. [Link]

Activists angry about the presence of delegates from Bahrain and Saudi Arabia — both accused of using U.K.-exported arms to suppress demonstrations — protested outside Parliament in central London and plan to march on the conference center Wednesday. [Link]

Concerns from arms trade protestors about invitations to controversial delegations from countries including Bahrain at this week’s DSEI arms fair in London have been met with a government response that strict export rules will be followed. [Link]

Amnesty International has obtained brochures from the Defense and Security International fair (DSEI) currently taking place in London’s Docklands, which appear to clearly show illegal torture equipment advertised. [Link]

There was a moment on Tuesday during the series of actions against the UK’s biennial Defence and Security Systems International (DSEI) exhibition, taking place from 13-16 September, that was so absurd it could have come straight out of a Monty Python sketch. [Link]